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Tax Policy - ATAX0301
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Faculty: Faculty of Law
 
 
School:  Australian School of Taxation
 
 
Course Outline: See below
 
 
Campus: ATAX Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 0
 
 
Enrolment Requirements:
 
 
Restricted to students enrolled in Programs 5540 or 5272
 
 
Excluded: ATAX0401, ATAX0501
 
 
Fee Band: 1 (more info)
 
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
 

Description

This course develops an intensive, 'hands on' approach to tax policy and gives you an insight into the tax issues which will be of concern in the new millennium. It offers systematic immersion in the techniques of practical, policy driven, tax problem solving. This course exposes participants to a bird's eye view of major policy questions like the balance between government and the market, the mix of the Australian tax structure and key tax design options. But the main emphasis is on enhancing your ability to actually use policy tools for systematic analysis. To this end, we will be re-visiting much of what you have already learnt in your economics related courses. However, now we will require you to take those tools and apply them specifically to a range of tax policy problems.


Recommended Prior Knowledge

None

Course Objectives

The objective of this course is to give a grounding in the tools of tax policy analysis. It is essentially an applied tax policy course which concentrates on developing tools capable of day-to-day application in critically evaluating and solving typical tax problems. It gives you the opportunity to evaluate critically the utility of various policy tools in the resolution of tax problems. More specifically, this course:
  • Concentrates on the development of robust policy formulation and implementation skills with an emphasis on applying those skills to typical tax problems
  • Provides a knowledge base to facilitate a systematic approach to evaluating the outcomes of tax decisions, including introduction to relevant economic and distributional concepts for tax analysis
  • Develops critical understanding of key concepts and institutions relevant to policy application, including an overview of the Australian tax system and an understanding of its political and institutional context

Main Topics

  • Australian tax system
  • Economic efficiency
  • Equity
  • Political and institutional dimensions
  • Taxation design in an open economy
  • Income and capital taxes
  • Domestic consumption and production taxes

Assessment

Distance, CBD or Intensive mode
2 assignments
1 exam

WebCT mode
1 web-based group research project
2 assignments
1 exam

Course Texts

Prescribed

  • Shome P, Tax Policy Handbook (Washington DC: International Monetary Fund, 1995) ISBN 1-55775-490X.
  • Warren, N, Tax: Facts Fiction and Reform (Australian Tax Research Foundation: Sydney, 2004) ISBN 0 949482 80 3
  • Tax and the Economy: A Comparative Assessment of OECD Countries, OECD Tax Policy Studies No. 6, 2001. Download this from the SourceOECD website accessible through Sirius at the UNSW Library website. This publication is very good background reading for this course.
Recommended
Additional readings are also included in your study materials.

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© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.